Angelica and the Bear Prince

Nguyen (The Magic Fish) spins a captivating tale of romance, grief, and community in a graphic novel that draws inspiration from “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” and Cyrano de Bergerac. High schooler Angelica Hoang does it all—manages the hockey team, runs cross-country, and participates in the school newspaper, choir, and “miscellaneous volunteer activities”—until a bout of intense burnout forces her to take a break. Her only solace is anonymously messaging the social media account of a local theater mascot, Per the Bear, who dresses like a prince. Happily, landing an internship at the same theater company puts Angelica in the mysterious bear prince’s path. But as she navigates her new internship responsibilities, the demands of her restaurateur parents, and the beginnings of a crush, grief over her late grandmother and a former friend she lost contact with years ago begin to emerge. Nguyen employs his signature dreamy, fairy tale style to depict grandiose sequences that detail Angelica’s fantasy romance with the bear prince and flashbacks from her childhood. It’s a gorgeously rendered, whimsical story about a community coming together to support one another during hardships both big and small. Angelica is of Vietnamese descent. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kate McKean, Morhaim Literary. (Oct.)